Jerusalem - The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, announced special benefits yesterday for tens of thousands of second World War veterans who came from the former Soviet Union.
He rejected speculation that the gesture for some 30,000 veterans was timed to secure crucial votes of Russian immigrants at the general election on May 17th.
The immigrant vote is seen as crucial to a Netanyahu victory. An opinion poll carried by the daily newspaper Ha'aretz yesterday showed a sharp drop in immigrant support for the Prime Minister. The poll, which Ha'aretz said was commissioned by Mr Netanyahu's Likud party, said his standing dropped from 73 per cent in the 1996 election to 55 per cent.